Spring Collection II

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I have collected a few more springtime Instagram photos from my iPhone.
If I don’t hurry up and share them with you soon, it will be summertime(!)
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Nothin’ says “springtime” like daffodils –
one of my favorite fragrances from childhood.
They don’t grow too well in our part of Texas;
these were in the floral department
at our local supermarket.
I just had to stop several times and breathe in those memories
of another time and another place…

Next is a sampling of the “Miss Saigon” Dutch iris
we planted in one of our beds.
My mother used to grow Dutch iris,
so these also bring back fond memories.  =)
The blooms are rich in color and very delicate.
Obviously, I enhanced this one with some favorite apps
before posting to Instagram!

…And here is another “tewelip”
that was in a bouquet from special friends.
Tulips are lovely at any stage,
from tight buds to the falling-apart phase.
I have some “falling apart” ones to show you later.

…And finally, a tulip and a narcissus
bathed in raindrops…
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7

Hope this will be a good day for each of you –
and that we all take some time
to slow down and appreciate the beauty that God has placed around us.

See ya later, my friends!

Blessings

God’s blessings don’t always come to us in the form we expect,
and sometimes we feel that God has abandoned us and forgotten about us,
rather than that He is blessing us.

In these times, we must remember that
God may be using the trials we are going through
to prepare us for something better…
for blessings that we cannot even imagine.

‘The faithfulness of the Lord never ends!’

This is a new song, “Blessings,” by Laura Story.
Some of the meaningful lyrics include…

“What if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you’re near?
What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?…”

For an overview of Laura Story’s life,
<click here>

As we come to the conclusion of a week of catastrophic suffering in the southern United States,
there are people who continue to be overwhelmed by loss of loved ones,
loss of homes and employment,
and who are suffering the pain of personal injuries caused by the horrific storms.
For them, life will never be exactly the same again!

There are thousands of others up and down the center of the heartland 
who live in the shadow of the rising Mississippi River
and face an ongoing threat that their part of the levee will be breached…
and that they will be caught up in a flood of epic proportions.

Whatever kind of struggle you are going through,
I pray that you wake up tomorrow morning
aware that God’s love and faithfulness have begun afresh in your life for another day.

And let us not forget to pray for all these others who need God’s blessings, too.

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Inner Light

Sometimes our light goes out
but is blown again into flame
by an encounter with another human being.

Each of us owes the deepest thanks
to those who have rekindled this inner light.

Albert Schweitzer